Central Asian Saddle Cover

The Kazakh people of Central Asia place great importance on their horses. Their saddle covers are ornamental as well as a form of protection from extremely cold weather condition.

The trapezoidal horse blanket form is  traditional to the central Asian region. What distinguishes this saddle cover is the coloring and the design of the embroidery. Instead of the zoomorphic shapes of the lakhai, Uzbek and Kazakh, this saddle cover has linear, floral and cloudlike shapes and the colors are red, white and blue, both suggesting a strong Chinese influence.

Felt ground with silk chainstitch embroidery; silk fringes and striped cotton backing.